- Feb 3, 2019
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Free Beer Returns for Summer 2019
- Thread starter Jahrules
- Start date
- Feb 3, 2019
- 3,128
- 5,613
- 250
- Feb 3, 2019
- 3,128
- 5,613
- 250
This week's free beer is blue moon.
Apparently, it's going to be a different brand each week.
Apparently, it's going to be a different brand each week.
- Feb 3, 2019
- 3,128
- 5,613
- 250
Just a few notes about the free beer for those that don't know. You actually enter the exit by the last cashier in festhaus. The signage is good.
The put up a temporary "window" at the last counter:
All the taps:
The put up a temporary "window" at the last counter:
All the taps:
- Feb 3, 2019
- 3,128
- 5,613
- 250
With the length of lines I saw for the free beer, I wouldn't be surprised if they switched to Bud light simply because their keg supply was running low.
This sounds like a way for them to get cycle kegs they over bought from the distributor without it going bad.
Not sure. If that's the case then why the change to bud light then back to blue moon when they got more in. The lady told me on Tuesday that the bud light was only because they ran out of Blue moon after the busy weekend, after seeing my disappointment at the bud light. Sure enough it was back the next visit. Unfortunately, I can't imagine a scenario where bud light would ever go out of date in the park. But it is a great idea. Also we would get to try more obscure beers if they did this.
Actually after thinking about this, the park should try to partnering with more regional breweries and see if for getting a discount on price, they would guarantee xxx amount of samples to potential customers. I know if I tried something and liked it I would be willing to seek it out for purchase. Not sure about micro breweries unless they are very local and could afford providinga decent number of kegs and have distribution that overlaps with BGW passholders. . I'm sure BGW knows the specific demographics of the passholders to present to potential partners with overlapping customer bases.
It could also be a way for them to reach a higher order amount to get a better bulk rate with a distributor. Say you can order 100 kegs at $35 ($3500) but if you add 50 kegs then the price per keg is only $25 ($3750) it only costs you $250 more to get 50 more kegs. Now normally they might not use that many kegs but now they will and the cost is very minimal because it is just the amount that the order differs from the normal order.
I do want to make clear that I have absolutely no way to know what there actual contract and pricing is. These were just some random numbers I pulled up in my head.
I do want to make clear that I have absolutely no way to know what there actual contract and pricing is. These were just some random numbers I pulled up in my head.
While I have no insight into BGW contacts, many times large venues (I'm more familiar with hotels) negotiate deals with distributors that, many times, grants exclusivity. Coke is an example...they can't carry Pepsi products under the contract. So, in regards to beer, they may be limited in offerings only available thru the distributor(s).
However that doesn't quite work with the beers being offered - AB-Inbev's distributors won't touch MillerCoors products, yet the park obviously has both.
There may also be some legal concernss with tied house laws though honestly I don't see that as much of an issue considering Busch only sold their products at their park when they owned it, I think that since they likely used an outside distributor to truck kegs over from across the street it wasn't against VA's beer laws at the time. Of course, I'm not a legal expert so take c that as you will.
There may also be some legal concernss with tied house laws though honestly I don't see that as much of an issue considering Busch only sold their products at their park when they owned it, I think that since they likely used an outside distributor to truck kegs over from across the street it wasn't against VA's beer laws at the time. Of course, I'm not a legal expert so take c that as you will.
This I can clarify. When AB owned Busch there was an exclusivity agreement. They were only permitted to sell AB products. In fact there were strict rules about how long products could be kept past their born on date.
Once AB sold SEAS they no longer had exclusivity agreements for beer. They are free to purchase and sell whatever they would like. This could have changed in recent years but based on the amount of selection this hasn't changed. As far as I'm aware there is no law in VA stating that you can't have exclusivity with a brewery. I think for BGW they enjoy the freedom of selling the wide variety of craft beer they currently sell.
Likely true, even getting put in the taproom is probably good advertisement for them.
That's how I discovered Coelacanth, and it's now one of my very favorite breweries.
That's how I discovered Coelacanth, and it's now one of my very favorite breweries.
Some quick searching shows that section 4.1-111, section B, item 3 of the code of Virgina states that (paraphrasing) the ABC board shall regulate that alcohol producers and distributors cannot have any control in retailer decisions in accordance to section 4.1-216 which states more in depth the definitions of control including that no manufacturer or distributor can hold any financial interest in a retailer without an exception by the board.
So given all that, and assuming my interpretation is good, it sounds like BGW had an exemption that may have expired when ownership changed.
But otherwise, the tied-house laws are designed to prevent exclusivity agreements between the manufacturers and retailers as a way to prevent the social and moral ills associated with alcohol consumption. We can thank Prohibition for that.
Back on topic - if they're doing Blue Moon, you think they'd pull out a Leinenkugel?
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We are talking about two different scenarios. By my reading of the statute is that yhere is nothing in the law that prohibits a retailer from exclusively providing beers from only one brewery and only using one supplier. However it does seem to restrict brewery and distributors from having an ownership stake in retailers. On this I agree AB almost certainly got a waiver from the state to allow them to sell alcohol at BGW. Or it's possible that because they didn't buy their alcohol from AB but from a distributor that there is a workaround there. I'm not an expert on ABC laws.
Speaking of which I'm a little bit surprised that BGW found a way to give away beer for free. I remember a few years ago when they did bet for 40¢ for Loch Ness's 40th anniversary. At the time I was told that they would have done free beer but that ABC law doesn't permit it so they sold it for 40¢.
As I mentioned, I'm not a legal expert so my interpretation saw that the law is meant to curb a retailer from being controlled by either a producer or distributor... Which somehow is linked back to Prohibition era thinking that this kind of control causes more issues with alcohol consumption. That last part I got from an amendment document when I just searched for Virginia tied house laws.
Otherwise, the times are a changing so maybe something somewhere else changed to allow free samples above 2 oz like you'd see at a bar? Or the local ABC enforcement officers are turning a blind eye since it'd be up to them to interpret the current law and do anything about it.
Otherwise, the times are a changing so maybe something somewhere else changed to allow free samples above 2 oz like you'd see at a bar? Or the local ABC enforcement officers are turning a blind eye since it'd be up to them to interpret the current law and do anything about it.
Yes you are correct. But if BGW only wanted to buy from one distributor there is nothing in the law disallowing that. Just laws that disallow the brewery or distributor from controlling a retailer.
It's very interesting because samples are permitted in certain conditions. I'm sure BGW went to the state ABC board and said that they through this interpretation of the law they can do free beer and the ABC board agreed.